Short Summary

The Zambian National Ploughing Competition was held at the Chartonel Estates near Lusaka recently, and when it ended, the prizes were presented by Mr.

Description

The Zambian National Ploughing Competition was held at the Chartonel Estates near Lusaka recently, and when it ended, the prizes were presented by Mr. Paul Lusaka, the Rural Development Minister.

He took the opportunity to ask farmers to adopt a new approach towards increasing their output to help towards achieving the country's production objectives.

Farmers in Zambia, he said, must take to irrigation farming to produce crops round the year, instead of seasonally. There was still too much dependence on whether or not it rained.

Mr. Lusaka pointed out that Zambia was endowed with a lot of underground water, rivers and lakes. He thought that farmers should therefore make more use of irrigation. Farmers should exert all their energies to achieve self-sufficiency. The Government could give a certain amount of support, such as financing research and providing technical services.

He emphasised, however, that such support would only be forthcoming when it was necessary. It was most important for farmers to demonstrate their self-reliance first.

The Minister assured the farmers who had taken part in the ploughing competition that he would continue to support the event.